Optical scanning device, image forming apparatus, and optical scanning method

ABSTRACT

An optical scanning device includes a housing, a light source that emits light, a rotatable polygon mirror that receives the light from the light source while rotating and deflects the light by reflecting the light in a direction corresponding to an angle of rotation thereof, a scanning optical system that guides the light from the rotatable polygon mirror to a scanning object in such a manner as to repeatedly scan the scanning object with the light, and an intermediate member that is provided between an optical member included in the scanning optical system and the housing. The intermediate member is connected to the optical member with rubber adhesive and is also connected to the housing with the rubber adhesive.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based on and claims priority under 35 USC 119 fromJapanese Patent Application No. 2010-239330 filed Oct. 26, 2010.

BACKGROUND

(i) Technical Field

The present invention relates to an optical scanning device, an imageforming apparatus, and an optical scanning method.

(ii) Related Art

Typical image forming apparatuses include an apparatus employing anexposure device that forms an electrostatic latent image by scanning animage bearing member with light. Such an exposure device includesoptical members. Vibrations of the optical members need to besuppressed.

SUMMARY

According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided an opticalscanning device including a housing, a light source that emits light, arotatable polygon mirror that receives the light from the light sourcewhile rotating and deflects the light by reflecting the light in adirection corresponding to an angle of rotation thereof, a scanningoptical system that guides the light from the rotatable polygon mirrorto a scanning object in such a manner as to repeatedly scan the scanningobject with the light, and an intermediate member that is providedbetween an optical member included in the scanning optical system andthe housing. The intermediate member is connected to the optical memberwith rubber adhesive and is also connected to the housing with therubber adhesive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described indetail based on the following figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an image forming apparatus according toan exemplary embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an exposure device;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of an optical system provided in a housing of theexposure device;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the optical system provided in thehousing of the exposure device;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an intermediate member employed in theexposure device illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view illustrating a middle portion of acylindrical mirror without the intermediate member;

FIG. 7 illustrates the middle portion of the cylindrical mirrorillustrated in FIG. 6 with the intermediate member; and

FIG. 8 is a side view of the intermediate member provided between a ribof the housing and the cylindrical mirror.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention will now be described.

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an image forming apparatus 1 accordingto an exemplary embodiment of the invention. The image forming apparatus1 includes an exposure device 53. The exposure device 53 corresponds toan exemplary embodiment of the optical scanning device according to theinvention.

The image forming apparatus 1 includes a document reading section 10, animage forming section 20, and a paper containing section 30.

The document reading section 10 includes a document feeding tray 11 onwhich document sheets S are stacked. The document sheets S on thedocument feeding tray 11 are fed out one by one. Each of the feddocument sheets S is transported along a transport path 13 by transportrollers 12. A document-reading optical system 15 is provided under adocument reading plate 14 made of transparent glass and reads charactersand images recorded on the document sheet S. Subsequently, the documentsheet S is output onto a document output tray 16.

The document reading section 10 includes a hinge extending laterally atthe back thereof. The document feeding tray 11 and the document outputtray 16 are rotatably movable upward together about the hinge. When thedocument feeding tray 11 and the document output tray 16 are movedupward, the document reading plate 14 appears. In the document readingsection 10, instead of placing document sheets S on the document feedingtray 11, one document sheet S may be placed face down on the documentreading plate 14. In this state, when the document-reading opticalsystem 15 is moved in the direction of arrow A, characters and imagesrecorded on the document sheet S on the document reading plate 14 areread.

An image signal is generated by the document-reading optical system 15and is input to a processing/controlling circuit 21. Theprocessing/controlling circuit 21 forms an image on the basis of theimage signal in a manner described separately below. Theprocessing/controlling circuit 21 controls the operations of variouselements included in the image forming apparatus 1.

The paper containing section 30 is provided at the bottom of the imageforming apparatus 1 and includes three paper feeding trays 31_1 to 31_3.The paper feeding trays 31_1 to 31_3 contain pieces of paper P of, forexample, respectively different sizes that are stacked therein. Thepaper feeding trays 31_1 to 31_3 are drawable outward for refilling ofpaper P.

Some pieces of paper P are picked up from one of the three paper feedingtrays 31_1 to 31_3 (herein, the paper feeding tray 31_3 is taken as anexample) that contains pieces of paper P matching, for example, the sizeof the document sheet S by a corresponding one of pickup rollers 32. Thepieces of paper P are separated one by one by separating rollers 33.Each of the pieces of paper P is transported upward in the direction ofarrow B by transport rollers 34, and is further transported by standbyrollers 35 with a timing adjusted by the standby rollers 35. Thesubsequent process of transportation from the standby rollers 35 will bedescribed separately below.

The image forming section 20 includes a manual feeding tray 22. Themanual feeding tray 22 is of foldable type and is openable about thelower end thereof. By opening the manual feeding tray 22 and placingpieces of paper P thereon, each of the pieces of paper P on the manualfeeding tray 22 is feedable in the direction of arrow C.

The image forming section 20 also includes in a middle portion thereof aphotoconductor 51 configured to rotate in the direction of arrow D. Acharging device 52, a developing device 60, a static eliminating device54, and a cleaner 55 are provided around the photoconductor 51. Theexposure device 53 is positioned above the photoconductor 51.Furthermore, a transfer device 56 is provided such that an intermediatetransfer belt 71, described separately below, is held between thephotoconductor 51 and the transfer device 56.

The photoconductor 51 has a round cylindrical shape. The photoconductor51 bears an electrical charge by being charged, and releases theelectrical charge by being subjected to exposure. Thus, an electrostaticlatent image is formed on the surface of the photoconductor 51.

The charging device 52 charges the surface of the photoconductor 51 to aspecific potential.

The exposure device 53 receives the image signal from theprocessing/controlling circuit 21 and outputs light 531 modulated inaccordance with the image signal. The charging device 52 charges aportion of the surface of the photoconductor 51 rotating in thedirection of arrow D. The charged portion of the photoconductor 51 isrepeatedly scanned with the light 531 along the rotational axis of thephotoconductor 51 (in a direction perpendicular to the page surface ofFIG. 1). Thus, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface ofthe photoconductor 51. The electrostatic latent image formed on thesurface of the photoconductor 51 by the scanning with the light 531 isdeveloped by the developing device 60. Thus, a toner image is formed onthe surface of the photoconductor 51. Specifically, the developingdevice 60 includes six developing units 61_1 to 61_6. The developingdevice 60 is configured to rotate in the direction of arrow E such thatone of the six developing units 61_1 to 61_6 (in FIG. 1, the developingunit 61_1) faces the photoconductor 51. The electrostatic latent imageformed on the photoconductor 51 is developed by the developing unit(herein, the developing unit 61_1) facing the photoconductor 51. Thus,the toner image is formed.

The six developing units 61_1 to 61_6 included in the developing device60 contain toners having respective colors of yellow (Y), magenta (M),cyan (C), black (K), and two special colors selected in accordance withthe use by the user. In developing the electrostatic latent image on thephotoconductor 51, one of the developing units 61_1 to 61_6 containing atoner having a color to be used at that time is brought to the positionfacing the photoconductor 51, and development is performed by thedeveloping unit facing the photoconductor 51 with the toner containedtherein. Examples of the special colors selected in accordance with theuse by the user include a transparent toner for glossy finish of theimage and a toner having an adjusted color frequently used by the user.

Six toner tanks 62_1 to 62_6 containing toners having the same colors asthose of the respective toners used by the six developing units 61_1 to61_6 are provided above the developing device 60. When the amounts ofany toners in the developing units 61_1 to 61_6 are reduced, the tonersin corresponding ones of the toner tanks 62_1 to 62_6 are supplied tocorresponding ones of the developing units 61_1 to 61_6.

The toner image developed on the photoconductor 51 by the developingdevice 60 is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 71 through anoperation of the transfer device 56.

After the transfer, the electrical charge on the photoconductor 51 iseliminated by the static eliminating device 54, and toners remaining onthe photoconductor 51 after the transfer are removed by the cleaner 55.

The intermediate transfer belt 71 is an endless belt stretched aroundplural rollers 72 and rotates in the direction of arrow F. A transferdevice 73 is provided near the intermediate transfer belt 71 with atransport path for the paper P defined therebetween. A cleaner 74configured to remove toners remaining on the intermediate transfer belt71 after the transfer by the transfer device 73 is provided on thedownstream side with respect to the transfer device 73 in the directionof rotation of the intermediate transfer belt 71. The transfer device 73and the cleaner 74 are spaced away from the intermediate transfer belt71 and are configured to be brought into contact with the intermediatetransfer belt 71. In forming a multi-color image, while the transferdevice 73 and the cleaner 74 are held away from the intermediatetransfer belt 71, a process of forming a toner image on thephotoconductor 51 with a toner having a specific color and transferringthe toner image to the intermediate transfer belt 71 is repeated for thenumber of relevant developing units (the number of relevant tonercolors) by rotating the developing device 60. Thus, plural toner imagesin different colors are sequentially superposed on the intermediatetransfer belt 71.

Subsequently, the transfer device 73 is brought into contact with theintermediate transfer belt 71, and a piece of paper P is fed out by thestandby rollers 35 such that the piece of paper P reaches a transferposition, where the transfer device 73 is provided, when the set ofsuperposed toner images in different colors reaches the transferposition. Thus, the set of toner images in different colors on theintermediate transfer belt 71 is transferred to the piece of paper P atthe transfer position through an operation of the transfer device 73.The piece of paper P having the set of toner images transferred thereonis further transported in the direction of arrow G and is subjected toheat and pressure applied by a fixing device 75. Thus, an image as a setof fixed toner images is obtained on the piece of paper P. The piece ofpaper P that has passed through the fixing device 75 is furthertransported in the direction of arrow H and is output onto a paperoutput tray 23.

Furthermore, the cleaner 74 is brought into contact with theintermediate transfer belt 71, and toners remaining on the intermediatetransfer belt 71 after the transfer by the transfer device 73 areremoved from the intermediate transfer belt 71 by the cleaner 74.

The image forming apparatus 1 is capable of forming images on both sidesof each piece of paper P. In forming images on both sides of a piece ofpaper P, the piece of paper P having an image on a first side thereof asdescribed above is not output onto the paper output tray 23. Instead, aguiding member 36 is turned, and the piece of paper P is thustransported in the direction of arrow I by transport rollers 37.Subsequently, the direction of transportation is reversed, and the pieceof paper P is guided by another guiding member 38 in such a manner as tobe transported in the direction of arrow K by transport rollers 39 andreaches the standby rollers 35.

Subsequently, as in the case described above, another image is formed ona second side of the piece of paper P. The piece of paper P thus havingthe images on both sides thereof is output onto the paper output tray23.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the exposure device 53.

FIG. 2 illustrates the inside of the exposure device 53 with a coverthereof removed.

The exposure device 53 includes a housing 532. A circuit board 81 isfixed to the housing 532. A surface-emitting laser diode 82 (see FIGS. 3and 4) is mounted on the circuit board 81, and a cable 811 is connectedto the circuit board 81. A processing circuit 812 is also mounted on thecircuit board 81. The laser diode 82 mounted on the circuit board 81emits plural beams of light 531. Hence, the exposure device 53 isconfigured to scan the photoconductor 51 illustrated in FIG. 1 with theplural beams of light 531 at a time.

The cable 811 is also connected to the processing/controlling circuit 21illustrated in FIG. 1 and transmits the image signal from theprocessing/controlling circuit 21 to the circuit board 81. The imagesignal transmitted to the circuit board 81 is processed by theprocessing circuit 812 and is converted into a modulation signal thatcontrols the modulation of the light 531 to be emitted from the laserdiode 82, and the modulation signal is transmitted to the laser diode82. Thus, the laser diode 82 emits plural beams of light 531 modulatedin accordance with the modulation signal thus transmitted.

The housing 532 of the exposure device 53 houses an optical systemincluding a rotatable polygon mirror 83 and other optical members.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are a plan view and a perspective view, respectively, ofthe optical system housed in the housing 532 of the exposure device 53.

The light 531, including plural beams, emitted from the laser diode 82travels through a collimating lens 84 and an aperture 85, and strikes ahalf mirror 86. The half mirror 86 reflects part of the light 531 asreflected light 531 a. The reflected light 531 a travels through afocusing lens 87 and enters an optical sensor 88 for light quantitydetection. A photodetection signal is generated by the optical sensor 88and is transmitted to the circuit board 81 illustrated in FIG. 2. Thequantity of light 531 to be emitted from the laser diode 82 is adjustedon the basis of the photodetection signal by the processing circuit 812mounted on the circuit board 81.

Other part of the light 531 is transmitted through the half mirror 86,travels through a cylindrical lens 89, and strikes the rotatable polygonmirror 83. The rotatable polygon mirror 83 has peripheral surfaces 831functioning as reflective mirrors and reflects incoming light in adirection corresponding to the angle of rotation thereof. The rotatablepolygon mirror 83 rotates in the direction of arrow L. Hence, the light531 reflected by the rotatable polygon mirror 83 is repeatedly deflectedin the direction of arrow M.

The light 531 reflected by the rotatable polygon mirror 83 travelsthrough fθ lens elements 90, is reflected upward by a cylindrical mirror91, and is reflected by a plane mirror 92 in such a direction that theoptical path is turned. The light 531 reflected by the plane mirror 92travels above the fθ lens elements 90 and the rotatable polygon mirror83, is reflected downward by a cylindrical mirror 93, travels through anopening 533 (see FIG. 2) provided in the housing 532, and is emitteddownward from the housing 532. The light 531 emitted from the housing532 of the exposure device 53 is used for scanning of the photoconductor51 along the rotational axis of the photoconductor 51, as illustrated inFIG. 1. Thus, an electrostatic latent image is formed on thephotoconductor 51.

Referring to FIG. 4, a reflective mirror 94 is provided at a positioninside a deflection range R within which the light 531 is deflected bythe rotatable polygon mirror 83 and outside a scanning area S used forthe scanning of the photoconductor 51. The light 531 reflected by theplane mirror 92 is reflected by the reflective mirror 94 as reflectedlight 531 b at the start of each scan. The reflected light 531 b fromthe reflective mirror 94 travels through a focusing lens 95 and entersan optical sensor 96 for timing detection.

The optical sensor 96 detects the start timing of each scan so as toadjust the timing of modulation of the light 531. A photodetectionsignal is generated by the optical sensor 96 and is transmitted to theprocessing/controlling circuit 21 (see FIG. 1). Theprocessing/controlling circuit 21 generates an image signal whose timingis adjusted on the basis of the photodetection signal. The image signalfrom the processing/controlling circuit 21 is input to the circuit board81 through the cable 811. Thus, the laser diode 82 emits the light 531modulated in accordance with the modulation signal based on the imagesignal received through the cable 811 with the light quantity adjustedon the basis of the photodetection signal generated by the opticalsensor 88.

The cylindrical mirror 93 is one of the optical members included in thescanning optical system that guides the light 531 reflected anddeflected by the rotatable polygon mirror 83 to the photoconductor 51(see FIG. 1). In the exposure device 53, as illustrated in FIG. 2, anintermediate member 611 is provided between a back surface 932 (seeFIGS. 6 to 8) of the cylindrical mirror 93 and the housing 532. Theintermediate member 611 is connected to the housing 532 and to thecylindrical mirror 93 with rubber adhesive 612.

The cylindrical mirror 93 is a long mirror extending in the direction ofscanning with the light 531. When any vibration caused by the operationof the image forming apparatus 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 is transmitted tothe cylindrical mirror 93 and the cylindrical mirror 93 is vibrated, theelectrostatic latent image on the photoconductor 51 and, consequently,an image to be formed on the paper P may have quality failure.

Particularly, in the case of the image forming apparatus 1 configured asillustrated in FIG. 1, when the developing units 61_1 to 61_6 areswitched therebetween, the developing device 60 is rotated, and therotation produces a large vibration. On the other hand, the imageproductivity is desired to be increased. To increase the imageproductivity, it is undesirable to suspend the exposure operation of theexposure device 53 (the operation of scanning the photoconductor 51 withthe light 531) when the developing device 60 is rotated.

Hence, in the exemplary embodiment, vibration of the cylindrical mirror93 due to the vibration of the body of the image forming apparatus 1 issuppressed by providing the intermediate member 611 and the rubberadhesive 612.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the intermediate member 611 employed inthe exposure device 53 illustrated in FIG. 2.

The intermediate member 611 is made of aluminum and generally has around columnar shape or a substantially round columnar shape with agroove 611 a, which is an exemplary recess, provided in a middle portionthereof. The intermediate member 611 is obtained by simply cutting andgrinding a round aluminum bar and is therefore manufactured at a lowcost.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view illustrating a middle portion of thecylindrical mirror 93. FIG. 6 illustrates a state without theintermediate member 611.

FIG. 7 illustrates the middle portion of the cylindrical mirror 93illustrated in FIG. 6 with the intermediate member 611.

The cylindrical mirror 93 is positioned such that a reflective surface931 thereof (see FIG. 8) is oriented obliquely downward. FIGS. 6 and 7illustrate the back surface 932 and a top surface 933 of the cylindricalmirror 93. FIGS. 6 and 7 also illustrate the opening 533 provided in thehousing 532 (see FIG. 2).

The housing 532 has a rib 536 projecting toward the back surface 932 ofthe cylindrical mirror 93. The intermediate member 611 having a roundcolumnar shape or a substantially round columnar shape as illustrated inFIG. 5 is positioned such that the center axis thereof extends in thelongitudinal direction of the cylindrical mirror 93, with the rib 536fitted in the groove 611 a provided in the middle portion of theintermediate member 611. Thus, by positioning the intermediate member611 such that the rib 536 is fitted into the groove 611 a, theintermediate member 611 is easily positioned in a predeterminedorientation and at a predetermined position. The intermediate member 611is in line contact with the back surface 932 of the cylindrical mirror93 by a large length in the longitudinal direction of the cylindricalmirror 93. The line contact, i.e., the contact in the longitudinaldirection of the cylindrical mirror 93, more effectively suppressesvibration of the cylindrical mirror 93.

With the intermediate member 611 being positioned as described above,the rubber adhesive 612 is provided over the spaces between theintermediate member 611 and the back surface 932 of the cylindricalmirror 93 and between the intermediate member 611 and the rib 536 of thehousing 532, whereby the intermediate member 611 is connected to thecylindrical mirror 93 and to the housing 532.

The rubber adhesive 612 directly connects the back surface 932 of thecylindrical mirror 93 and the rib 536 of the housing 532 to each otherin such a manner as to fill the groove 611 a (see FIG. 5) of theintermediate member 611.

The rubber adhesive 612 may be, but is not limited to, any adhesive thatis expandable and contractible after being cured, as rubber is. Examplesof the rubber adhesive 612 include the following products: Super-Xseries and PM series of Cemedine Co., Ltd., and Silex 100 of KonishiCo., Ltd.

In the exemplary embodiment, since the rubber adhesive 612 is employed,the vibration-absorbing effect is greater than in a case where adhesivethat becomes a hard solid after being cured is employed. In this respectalso, vibration of the cylindrical mirror 93 is effectively suppressed.

FIG. 8 is a side view of the intermediate member 611 provided betweenthe rib 536 of the housing 532 and the cylindrical mirror 93.

The light 531 is applied to the reflective surface 931 of thecylindrical mirror 93, and is reflected downward by the reflectivesurface 931.

The intermediate member 611 having a round columnar shape or asubstantially round columnar shape is provided between the back surface932 of the cylindrical mirror 93 and the rib 536 of the housing 532. Therubber adhesive 612 is provided in such a manner as to connect the rib536, the back surface 932 of the cylindrical mirror 93, and theintermediate member 611 to one another.

The intermediate member 611 having a round columnar shape or asubstantially round columnar shape has a contact portion 611 b that isin line contact with the back surface 932 of the cylindrical mirror 93in a direction perpendicular to the page surface of FIG. 8. The contactportion 611 b is defined at a position deviating from and below a center932 c of the back surface 932 of the cylindrical mirror 93 in the widthdirection intersecting the longitudinal direction of the cylindricalmirror 93. Instead, the rubber adhesive 612 is in contact with a portionof the cylindrical mirror 93 containing the center 932 c.

Thus, the contact portion 611 b for the line contact is defined at aposition deviating from and below the center 932 c of the cylindricalmirror 93 in the width direction, and the central portion of thecylindrical mirror 93 in the width direction is covered with the rubberadhesive 612. Therefore, the vibration-suppressing effect produced bythe line contact with the contact portion 611 b and thevibration-absorbing effect produced by the rubber adhesive 612 arecombined together. Consequently, vibration of the cylindrical mirror 93is suppressed to a negligible level that does not affect the imagequality.

In the exemplary embodiment, the combination of the intermediate member611 and the rubber adhesive 612 is employed for suppressing vibration ofthe cylindrical mirror 93. The combination of the intermediate member611 and the rubber adhesive 612 may also be employed for suppressingvibrations of any other optical members, for example, the cylindricalmirror 91 and/or the plane mirror 92.

While the above exemplary embodiment concerns the exposure device 53included in the image forming apparatus 1 configured as illustrated inFIG. 1, the invention is also applicable to exposure devices included inother types of image forming apparatuses, for example, an image formingapparatus including plural photoconductors.

Furthermore, the optical scanning device according to the invention isnot limited to an optical scanning device employed as an exposure deviceof an image forming apparatus, and is applicable to optical scanningdevices employed in various fields in which vibrations may lead toproblems.

The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention has been provided for the purposes of illustration anddescription. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit theinvention to the precise forms disclosed. Obviously, many modificationsand variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in the art. Theembodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the invention and its practical applications, therebyenabling others skilled in the art to understand the invention forvarious embodiments and with the various modifications as are suited tothe particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of theinvention be defined by the following claims and their equivalents.

1. An optical scanning device comprising: a housing; a light source thatemits light; a rotatable polygon mirror that receives the light from thelight source while rotating and deflects the light by reflecting thelight in a direction corresponding to an angle of rotation thereof; ascanning optical system that guides the light from the rotatable polygonmirror to a scanning object in such a manner as to repeatedly scan thescanning object with the light; and an intermediate member that isprovided between an optical member included in the scanning opticalsystem and the housing, the intermediate member being connected to theoptical member with rubber adhesive and also being connected to thehousing with the rubber adhesive.
 2. The optical scanning deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the optical member and the housing areconnected to each other with the rubber adhesive.
 3. The opticalscanning device according to claim 1, wherein the optical member is areflective mirror extending in a direction in which the light isdeflected, and wherein the intermediate member has a contact portionextending linearly in a direction in which the reflective mirror extendsand being in contact with a back surface of the reflective mirror. 4.The optical scanning device according to claim 2, wherein the opticalmember is a reflective mirror extending in a direction in which thelight is deflected, and wherein the intermediate member has a contactportion extending linearly in a direction in which the reflective mirrorextends and being in contact with a back surface of the reflectivemirror.
 5. The optical scanning device according to claim 3, wherein theintermediate member has a substantially round columnar shape and isoriented such that the center axis thereof is parallel to the directionin which the reflective mirror extends.
 6. The optical scanning deviceaccording to claim 3, wherein the intermediate member is in contact withthe back surface of the reflective mirror at a position of thereflective mirror deviating from the center of the back surface of thereflective mirror in a width direction intersecting the direction inwhich the reflective mirror extends, and wherein the rubber adhesiveadheres to a portion of the back surface of the reflective mirrorcontaining the center in the width direction.
 7. The optical scanningdevice according to claim 5, wherein the intermediate member is incontact with the back surface of the reflective mirror at a position ofthe reflective mirror deviating from the center of the back surface ofthe reflective mirror in a width direction intersecting the direction inwhich the reflective mirror extends, and wherein the rubber adhesiveadheres to a portion of the back surface of the reflective mirrorcontaining the center in the width direction.
 8. The optical scanningdevice according to claim 1, wherein the housing has a projectionprojecting toward the optical member, and wherein the intermediatemember has a recess into which the projection fits.
 9. The opticalscanning device according to claim 1, wherein the intermediate memberand the rubber adhesive suppress vibration of the optical member.
 10. Animage forming apparatus comprising: a developed-image-forming sectionincluding an image bearing member on which an electrostatic latent imageis formed through charging and exposure, a charging device that chargesthe image bearing member, an exposure device that performs exposure onthe image bearing member by scanning the image bearing member with lightmodulated in accordance with an image signal, and a developing devicethat forms a developed image by developing the electrostatic latentimage; and a transfer-fixing section including a transfer device thattransfers the developed image formed by the developed-image-formingsection to a recording medium, and a fixing device that fixes thedeveloped image transferred to the recording medium, wherein theexposure device includes a housing; a light source that receives theimage signal and emits the light modulated in accordance with the imagesignal; a rotatable polygon mirror that receives the light from thelight source while rotating and deflects the light by reflecting thelight in a direction corresponding to an angle of rotation thereof; ascanning optical system that guides the light from the rotatable polygonmirror to the image bearing member in such a manner as to repeatedlyscan the image bearing member with the light; and an intermediate memberthat is provided between an optical member included in the scanningoptical system and the housing, the intermediate member being connectedto the optical member with rubber adhesive and also being connected tothe housing with the rubber adhesive.
 11. The image forming apparatusaccording to claim 10, wherein the optical member and the housing areconnected to each other with the rubber adhesive.
 12. The image formingapparatus according to claim 10, wherein the optical member is areflective mirror extending in a direction in which the light isdeflected, and wherein the intermediate member has a contact portionextending linearly in a direction in which the reflective mirror extendsand being in contact with a back surface of the reflective mirror. 13.The image forming apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the opticalmember is a reflective mirror extending in a direction in which thelight is deflected, and wherein the intermediate member has a contactportion extending linearly in a direction in which the reflective mirrorextends and being in contact with a back surface of the reflectivemirror.
 14. The image forming apparatus according to claim 12, whereinthe intermediate member has a substantially round columnar shape and isoriented such that the center axis thereof is parallel to the directionin which the reflective mirror extends.
 15. The image forming apparatusaccording to claim 12, wherein the intermediate member is in contactwith the back surface of the reflective mirror at a position of thereflective mirror deviating from the center of the back surface of thereflective mirror in a width direction intersecting the direction inwhich the reflective mirror extends, and wherein the rubber adhesiveadheres to a portion of the back surface of the reflective mirrorcontaining the center in the width direction.
 16. The image formingapparatus according to claim 14, wherein the intermediate member is incontact with the back surface of the reflective mirror at a position ofthe reflective mirror deviating from the center of the back surface ofthe reflective mirror in a width direction intersecting the direction inwhich the reflective mirror extends, and wherein the rubber adhesiveadheres to a portion of the back surface of the reflective mirrorcontaining the center in the width direction.
 17. The image formingapparatus according to claim 10, wherein the housing has a projectionprojecting toward the optical member, and wherein the intermediatemember has a recess into which the projection fits.
 18. An opticalscanning method comprising: emitting light from a light source; rotatinga rotatable polygon mirror that receives the light from the light sourceand reflecting the light in such a manner as to deflect the light in adirection corresponding to an angle of rotation of the rotatable polygonmirror; guiding the light from the rotatable polygon mirror through ascanning optical system to a scanning object in such a manner as torepeatedly scan the scanning object with the light; and providing anintermediate member between an optical member included in the scanningoptical system and a housing of an optical scanning device, theintermediate member being connected to the optical member with rubberadhesive and also being connected to the housing with the rubberadhesive.